Ada County rejects courthouse handrail bids, orders open‑market procurement

Ada County commissioners voted Dec. 2 to reject all bids received for the Courthouse Exterior Handrail Replacement Project (bid #26007) and directed county staff to seek a new procurement on the open market.

Procurement staff presented a written recommendation that the evaluation group reject both bids received: one bidder lacked a valid public‑works license and the other bid exceeded the project budget. Reading the recommendation into the record, procurement staff said the bids "either did not have a valid Idaho public‑works license or were in excess of the budget for this project" and requested authority to reprocure with an eye toward lower costs.

Chairman Chris Shelley said the board was surprised by the high bid and noted that one prior bid had been "almost right in line with what we anticipated," adding the county should be able to secure a better price on the open market. Following brief discussion among commissioners and procurement staff, a motion to reject all bids and pursue an open‑market procurement carried by voice vote.

County staff cited state procurement rules (the transcript referenced a state code provision in the bid‑review letter) as the legal basis for rejecting noncompliant bids and asked for authorization to reissue the project. The board provided that authorization and did not take additional substantive action at the meeting.

What happens next: Procurement staff said they will reissue procurement documents and solicit additional proposals; timetable and contract award dates were not specified at the meeting.